Arthur's Christmas Break
by Mina-Prower
Summary: Arthur and his friends are all excited for Christmas break to start. It's time for fun during the holidays before it is time that they all have to go back to school.
1. The Last School Day before Break

**Arthur's Christmas Break**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Arthur_ or any of its characters or content from the series. The characters and etc. from _Arthur_ belong to Marc Brown, PBS, WGBH, and Cookie Jar (formerly CINAR).

**Chapter 1: The Last School Day before Break**

On Friday, December 19th in Elwood City, it was 32 degrees F, and there was barely any snow.

At the Reads' house, in the living room below Arthur's room, there was a Christmas tree with a yellow star on top, ornaments and ribbons and candy canes around the whole tree, Christmas lights around the tree that run, a Christmas tree blanket underneath the tree, and a lot of Christmas presents surrounding the tree; a red ribbon around the top corners of the piano, a musical downtown Christmas set on the table, there were some Nativity figures on the fireplace mantel, and there were Christmas stockings above the fireplace. There were Christmas vine decorations around the stairs, around the dining room walls, around the second story hallway, and around the walls in both living rooms. There was a wreath on the front door. And outside the house, there were Christmas lights around the house that run. There were candy canes on the sides of the path that goes to the front door.

16-year-old Arthur Read was getting ready for school. He had shaggy brown hair plus bangs, and was wearing round brown glasses, a yellow sweater with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and red and white sneakers. He packed his lunch into his blue _Bionic Bunny_ lunchbox and sat down at the table for breakfast. He was eating a Christmas version of _Bionic Bunny_ cereal with milk. His sisters, 12-year-old D.W. and 9-year-old Kate were also at the table, and they were eating just common Christmas cereal. D.W.'s hair was down to her shoulders, but she still had bangs; and Kate's hair was the same length as D.W.'s but more wavy. D.W. was wearing a pink plaid dress with long sleeves, a pair of brown dress shoes, and long white socks. Kate was wearing a pink dress with purple sleeves, a pair of black Mary Janes, and long white socks.

After Arthur and his sisters were finished eating, it was time for them all to go to school. Arthur put on a Santa Claus hat, his brown winter coat, a blue scarf, and a pair of red mittens. D.W. put on her white stocking cap with a fluffy pink ball, a gray winter coat, and a pair of pink mittens. Kate put on her purple stocking cap with a fluffy pink ball, a purple and pink winter coat, and a pair of teal gloves. Their mother, 40-year-old Jane was getting ready to drop off the girls. Jane had shaggy brown hair like before, and she was wearing pink Christmas dress with long sleeves, brown boots, and a brown winter coat. Arthur and his sisters' father David was 40 years old, also. David had brown bangs like before, and he was wearing a red and green Christmas sweater with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and brown loafers. He was setting up his kitchen in the garage to bake Christmas cakes and other desserts while his older sister Loretta helps him out once she and her family arrive.

As Arthur and his sister and their mother walked outside, Arthur walked to his car, the teal 1994 Ford Escort 2-door hatchback coupe that was parked behind his family's purple 4-door station wagon. The wagon was over fifteen years old, and it was over 130,000 miles, but there was some minor rust on the exterior. Jane and the girls all walked to the station wagon. After Arthur stepped inside his car, Jane and the girls stepped inside the wagon and the two girls both sat in the rear seat. Arthur backed out of the driveway and headed to the school, and then Jane backed out and was on her way to drop both girls off to their schools.

After Arthur reached Lakewood High School, his friends had arrived at nearly the same time. 16-year-old Francine Frensky was just stepping out of her family's junky old red 1980 Chevrolet Caprice 4-door sedan that was very rusty that they had eight months ago, and the car itself was over 200,000 miles. Francine had long brown hair and bangs, and she was wearing a red plastic headband, a red long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, red and white sneakers, a brown winter coat, red mittens, a sky blue scarf, and a blue Hanukkah hat that was the same shape as the red Santa hat.

Arthur and Francine then walked up the steps and into the school building. As they walked inside, they walked into the gymnasium where many of the students sit together on the floor and talk with each other before the bell rang. They found 16-year-old Buster Baxter, 16-year-old Alan Powers who goes by "the Brain", 16-year-old Muffy Crosswire, 17-year-old Prunella Deegan, 16-year-old Sue Ellen Armstrong, and 16-year-old Fern Walters. Buster had shaggy auburn hair with bangs and was wearing a light blue polo shirt, blue jeans, red and white sneakers, a gray winter coat, a green scarf, and a Santa hat. The Brain had shaggy brown hair with bangs and was wearing a green sweater with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, red and white sneakers, a brown winter coat, a red scarf, and a Santa hat. Muffy hair was very long and it was worn in pigtails, plus she had bangs, and she was wearing a red and green Christmas dress, brown shoes with long white socks, a purple winter coat, a pink scarf, and white earmuffs. Prunella's hair was very long with bangs and she was wearing a lavender plaid dress, brown shoes with long white socks, a brown winter coat, and a white winter hat. Sue Ellen's hair was very long with bangs and she was wearing teal barrettes in her hair, a white T-shirt with an anime-style Santa Claus on the front, a long teal skirt, brown shoes with long white socks, a brown Japanese-style winter coat, a teal scarf, white mittens, and a Santa hat. Fern had very long brown hair and was wearing a purple blouse, a long cream-colored skirt, brown shoes with long white socks, a brown winter coat, a yellow scarf, gray mittens, and a Santa hat. Muffy was talking to Prunella, Buster was talking to the Brain, and Sue Ellen was talking to Fern. The Brain was a senior with Prunella and he skipped junior year. Arthur and Francine joined in with Buster and the Brain.

About ten minutes later at 7:50 AM, the bell rang and all of the students left the gym and walked to their lockers.

Arthur, Buster, and Francine walked to their first period class, which was American Government. When the clock struck 7:55 AM, the bell rang and it was time for school to start. In that class, they were watching a Christmas special that the teacher put into the VCR on the middle-shelf of the cart with the CRT TV on the top mount.

During second period, Arthur, Buster, Francine, and Muffy went to Chemistry class. During that class, their teacher was asking the class questions about they each would mostly like to have for Christmas. Francine was Jewish since celebrates Hanukkah, and like Christmas would receive Hanukkah presents from her relatives but would give some of friends some Christmas presents. When the students were asked: Arthur's answer was _Bionic Bunny_ stuff, Buster's answer was video games, Francine's answer was anything good (even though she was thinking of her family celebrating Hanukkah), and Muffy's answer was jewelry. Then the teacher was playing a VHS Christmas movie that was leveled for teenagers and the movie was around fifteen years ago.

During third period, Arthur, Buster, the Brain, Francine, Muffy, and Prunella went to speech class. In that class, each of the students stood in front of the class to talk about what they will be doing over the holidays. The first person to have the turn was Arthur.

"My family is going to celebrate Christmas at my house," said Arthur, giving out his speech. "And my grandma is coming over, and my Aunt Loretta and Uncle Bud, and Cousin Mo and her siblings, too."

After Arthur and three more students, it was Francine's turn.

"My family is celebrating Hanukkah at my apartment, starting tomorrow," said Francine, giving out her speech, "And my sister Catherine is coming over, and my grandmother, and aunts and uncles, and cousins."

After Francine and two more students, it was Buster's turn.

"My mom and grandma and I are going to a movie," said Buster, giving out his speech. "And it will be a lot of fun."

After Buster, it was Muffy's turn.

"My family is celebrating Christmas at my mansion," said Muffy, giving out her speech. "And my brother Chip and my sister-in-law are coming over."

After Muffy and another student, it was the Brain's turn.

"My family and aunts and uncles and cousins are celebrating Kwanzaa," said the Brain, giving out his speech. "And it's a lot of fun."

After the Brain and two more students, it was Prunella's turn.

"My mother and I are celebrating Christmas at my house," said Prunella, giving out her speech. "And my sister Rubella is coming over, and my grandma, my aunts and uncles, and cousins."

During fifth period, Arthur, Buster, the Brain, Francine, Muffy, Prunella, Sue Ellen, and Fern went to music class, and it was junior-senior choir. Miss Krasny who was their music teacher back in elementary school was now a high school music teacher, and she was also the director of the music department. Miss Krasny's hair was longer, but she still had bangs, and she was dressed up like Mrs. Claus. Instead of having the class sing, Miss Krasny asked the students all about Christmas.

Right after music class, Arthur and his friends went to lunch. On the way to lunch, they saw their third grade teacher Mr. Ratburn who was now a traffic education teacher. Mr. Ratburn's hair was now longer and down to his neck, but he still had bangs; and he was wearing a red suit and a Santa hat.

Arthur and his friends sat together at a table. In Arthur's lunchbox, Arthur had a Christmas tree gingerbread cookie, an apple, and a lemon juicebox. In Buster's lunchbox, Buster had two chocolate candy bars and two carrots. In Francine's lunchbox, Francine had an apple, a pear, a cherry cupcake, and a cherry juicebox. In Muffy's lunchbag, Muffy had a peach, a cinnamon muffin, and a grape juicebox. In the Brain's lunchbox, the Brain had a slice of pizza from last night, a slice of chocolate cake, and a lime juicebox. In Prunella's lunchbag, Prunella had a peach, a slice of blueberry pie, and a grape juicebox. Sue Ellen and Fern were writing in their own diaries instead of eating lunch.

After lunchtime at school, it was time for the students to leave, since it was early dismissal for Christmas break to start.

When the students walked outside, they all headed to their cars. Besides Arthur and Francine's cars, Buster's car was a blue 1991 Chevrolet Lumina 4-door sedan, Muffy's car was a white 2003 Cadillac DeVille, the Brain's car was a red 1994 Chevrolet Camaro _Z28_, Prunella's car was a sky blue 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera _S_ 4-door sedan, Sue Ellen's car was a teal 1994 Ford Taurus _GL_ 4-door sedan, and Fern's car was a white 1994 Ford Tempo _GL_ 4-door sedan.

It took Arthur and his friends about two through five minutes to leave. Arthur and his friends were all excited for Christmas break to start.

**To be continued…**


	2. The Relatives' Arrival

**Chapter 2: The Relatives' Arrival**

As Arthur came home from school, he parked his car on the street in front of his house. When he walked inside, he saw his mother who was now wearing brown shoes instead of boots. She was carrying cleaning supplies in her hand and was cleaning the house while they were at school during a break from working on the computer.

"How was school?" asked Jane.

"It was fun," said Arthur. "We were watching videos and tons of other fun stuff."

"That's nice," said Jane. "Make sure your room is clean and organized before your Aunt Loretta and Uncle Bud and your cousins arrive."

As Arthur walked upstairs, he walked into his room and organized everything just in time for Cousin Ricky to stay in his room with him during Christmas break. He dusted his desk, the dressers, and the other surfaces in his room.

About five minutes later, D.W. came home from school on the school bus.

"Hello!" called D.W.

D.W. then walked into the living room below her and Kate's room where her mother was working on the computer. They had the same computer with the same inputs and outputs since, but upgraded the operating system to Windows 98 when Arthur was in middle school. They also had the same Elbozonic CRT television, but replaced their old black VCR with a black VCR/DVD player twin.

"How was school?" asked Jane.

"It was fun," said D.W. "We watched some videos in different classes."

"That's nice," said Jane. "Now make sure your room and Kate's is clean and organized before your Aunt Loretta and Uncle Bud and your cousins arrive."

D.W. then walked upstairs to her and Kate's room. In their room, there was a white bunk where the bunk beds had purple sheets and purple pillows where Kate had the top bunk and D.W. had the bottom bunk. They had the bunk since Kate was five years old. Before they had the bunk, Kate was switched from a crib to a small bed at the age of two, and then the small bed and D.W.'s old bed were traded in for the bunk.

D.W. organized everything just in time for Cousin Mo and her sister to stay in her and Kate's room with them on Christmas break.

In thirty minutes later, Kate arrived home from school on the school bus. Then she walked inside and went upstairs to her and D.W.'s room.

Meanwhile, in Arthur's room, Arthur found a red brochure in his shelf. On the brochure, it said: _LAKEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Christmas Concert_, and below those words was a clipart of the Christmas tree below that name, and below the art of the Christmas tree said _December 14th, 1995_. Then he opened up the brochure and read through the grades of students and the songs they were singing. In the kindergarten section, the songs were "Frosty the Snowman" and "Jingle Bells". In the first grade section, the songs were "Up on the Housetop" and "Over the River and Through the Woods". In the second grade section, the songs were "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Let it Snow". In the third grade section, the songs were "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas". In the fourth grade section, the songs were "Silver Bells" and "Winter Wonderland". In the fifth grade section, the songs were "Suzy Snowflake" and "O Christmas Tree". In the teachers section, the songs were "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock". In the all school section where all of the classes are together, the songs were "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", "Nuttin' for Christmas", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and "Auld Lang Syne". After reading the brochure, he thought about watching the video. He found the VHS cassette in a case that was labeled _LAKEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Christmas Concert_, and those words was a headshot clipart of a tan cat, a brown bear, and a white rabbit all wearing winter coats and mittens and Santa hats singing out of a book, and below the art on the cover said _December 1995_.

"This really brings back the memories from when I was in Mr. Ratburn's third grade class," Arthur said to himself.

Arthur walked out of his room and down the stairs and into the living room below his sisters' room. His mother was not at the computer anymore, and the cupboard was closed up. He turned on the TV and the video player. When the screen showed up, it was blue. He then took the VHS cassette out of the case and put it into the VCR. When he took the cassette out of the case, the label on the cassette had the same words but excluded the illustration. After putting the cassette into the VCR, the word "PLAY" in white showed up on the screen. In the next three seconds, the screen changed to black in a flash.

In ten seconds after Arthur started playing the video, the perspective of the stage showed up on the screen, and there was a backdrop featuring the outside with snow on the ground, a tall Christmas tree, two white street lamps with red ribbons, and Santa Claus on the sleigh up in the sky. In front of the backdrop were a set of black risers. In eight three seconds after the picture showed up, the logo which said _Lakewood Elementary School Christmas Concert, December 14, 1995_ showed up. In eight seconds afterwards, the logo disappeared in a flash. Miss Krasny who was the music teacher at the elementary school came onto the stage and announced the guests the Christmas concert, and after describing the concert, she told the guests to not talk, eat, drink, take pictures, or make videos, and last she told the guests to sit back and relax and enjoy the concert. She was wearing a red and green short-sleeved Christmas dress with a Christmas tree on it, and white high-heel pumps.

Arthur then picked up the remote to the video player and fast-forwarded to the third grade scene of the concert. While he was fast-forwarding, the kindergartners were wearing Frosty hats and dressy clothes; the first graders were wearing houses over their dressy clothes and chimneys for hats, and the second graders were wearing reindeer hats, red balls on their noses, and dressy clothes. The second graders were walking off of the stage to the right. Then came the third graders walking from the left of the stage who were all wearing Santa hats and dressy clothes. The first class that came were Mrs. Fink's students who stepped up the platform to the third row in the rear, then came Miss Sweetwater's students who stepped up to the second row in the middle, and the last were Mr. Ratburn's students who stepped to the first row in the front. Mr. Ratburn's students from the left to the right were the gray rabbit boy, George, Binky, the Brain, Buster, Arthur, Francine, Muffy, Sue Ellen, Fern, Jenna, and the white rabbit girl with dishwater blonde hair. Those were the old days of what Arthur and the others used to look like, plus Francine wearing red barrettes before switching to a headband in middle school. Muffy's hair while in the concert was worn in plain pigtails, plus she had bangs. Out of all the dressy clothes that Mr. Ratburn's students were wearing: Arthur was wearing a yellow V-neck sweater with a white and red striped dress shirt underneath, a red bowtie, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes; Francine was wearing a red sleeveless V-neck sweater with a white and sky blue striped dress shirt underneath and hanging out, a sky blue bowtie, blue jeans, and white dressy shoes; Buster was wearing an orange sweater with a white and blue striped dress shirt underneath, a green bowtie, khaki pants, and brown dressy shoes; Muffy was wearing a purple short-sleeved dress with snowflakes on it, two purple bows with pink dots in her pigtails, black Mary Janes, and long white socks; the Brain was wearing a blue V-neck sweater with a white and green striped dress shirt underneath, a blue necktie, khaki pants, and brown dressy shoes; Binky was wearing an orange button-up dress shirt, a brown bowtie, khaki pants, a brown belt buckle, and brown dressy shoes; Sue Ellen was wearing a blue short-sleeved dress with a Christmas tree on it, two bows in her hair where one was green and another was red, black Mary Janes, and long white socks; Fern was wearing a purple short-sleeved dress with Santa Claus on it, a yellow hair bow in her clump of brown hair, black Mary Janes, and long white socks; George was wearing a green sleeveless sweater with a white and gray striped dress shirt underneath, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes; Jenna was wearing a pink short-sleeved dress with Frosty the Snowman who had arms and legs, a purple hair bow in her sparse brown hair, black Mary Janes, and long white socks; the gray rabbit boy was wearing a red sweater with a black and white striped dress shirt underneath, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes; and the white rabbit girl was wearing a red and green short-sleeved dress with a reindeer on it, a blue hair bow in her hair, black Mary Janes, and long white socks.

After all the third graders in the video stepped onto the stage, Miss Krasny then continued playing the cassette in the stereo. Right away, the song "Here Comes Santa Claus" in E Flat Major started playing. The third graders started singing along with the song while Miss Krasny was conducting. At the end of the song, there was an applause. Then the song "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" in G Flat Major started playing. During that song, some of the parts were only sung by the boys, some were only sung by the girls, and the rest were sung together. After the last applause, the third graders walked off the stage to the right.

When the fourth graders were next in the video, Prunella's class was on the first row. They were all wearing lanyards that had two silver bells with red ribbons. The members of the Tough Customers were in the same class as Prunella. Prunella was wearing a red short-sleeved dress with Christmas bells, a green hair bow in her hair, a pair of black Mary Janes, and long white socks; Rattles was wearing a black suit with a red necktie and black loafers; and Molly was wearing a gray suit with a blue necktie and gray loafers. Just then, Miss Krasny continued playing the cassette, and the song "Silver Bells" in E Flat Major started playing and then the fourth graders started singing along. They were ringing their bells during the refrain of the song. Then there was an applause after the song. Then the song "Winter Wonderland" in E Major started playing. After that song, there was another applause. Then the fourth graders walked off the stage to the right.

Arthur then fast forwarded the video to the part where the teachers were performing. While he was fast-forwarding, the fifth graders were wearing snowflakes over their dressy clothes. The teachers walked onto the stage from the left, and the fifth grade teachers were first while the kindergarten teachers were last. The kindergarten teachers were dressed up as Frosty the Snowman; the first grade teachers were dressed up as houses where they were wearing their work clothes underneath the costumes and were wearing chimneys for hats; the second grade teachers were dressed up as reindeer with Mr. Marco being Rudolph while the other two were just random reindeer; for the third grade teachers, Mr. Ratburn was dressed up as Santa Claus while Miss Sweetwater and Mrs. Fink were both dressed up as Mrs. Claus; the fourth grade teachers were dressed up as silver Christmas bells with their work clothes underneath the costumes; and the fifth grade teachers were dressed up as white snowflakes with their work clothes underneath the costumes. The teachers were just standing directly on the stage instead of on the risers.

As Miss Krasny started playing the cassette in the video, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in G Major started playing. While the music was playing, the line about the partridge was sung by all the teachers, the lines about the turtle doves and French hens were sung by the first grade teachers, the line about the calling birds was sung by the second grade teachers, the line about the golden rings was sung by the kindergarten teachers, the lines about the geese laying and swans swimming were sung by the third grade teachers, the lines about the maids milking and ladies dancing were sung by the fourth grade teachers, the lines about the lords leaping and pipers piping were sung by the fifth grade teachers, and the line about the drummers drumming was sung by all of the teachers. Then there came an applause. Then the song "Jingle Bell Rock" in E Major started playing. The teachers were singing and they were all pretending to play the guitar. After the final applause, the teachers then walked off the stage to the right.

Then there was the finale: the fifth graders stood on the risers on the very right, then the fourth graders stood next to the fifth graders, then the third graders stood next to the fourth graders, then the second graders stood next to the third graders, then the first graders stood next to the second graders, and last the kindergartners stood on the very left. Some of the songs featured acts that were going on, and they were all mimes. The first to play was "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". Then as the song "Nuttin' for Christmas" in G Flat Major was playing, Binky played the troublesome boy; the Brain played Johnny, Sue Ellen played the sister, Molly played the mother, Rattles played the father, George played Tommy, Prunella played the teacher, Muffy played Susie, and of course Mr. Ratburn as Santa Claus was in it for the verse where the troublesome boy was not going to see Santa. During the applause after that song, the kids went back onto the risers. As the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in A Major was playing, Mr. Ratburn and Miss Sweetwater were in the act while all the kids were singing. Then in the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in E Major was playing, there was no act during that song. Then in the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in A Major, Mr. Ratburn was doing the act where he writes the nice and naughty lists and gazes through a snowglobe. Then there was the final song "Auld Lang Syne" in G Flat Major.

After the finale, there was a very long applause. Then there was a curtain call, and the students bowed first, and then the teachers walked in front of the stage and bowed. Then the teachers walked to the sides: the K-2 teachers walked to the left and the 3-5 teachers walked to the right, and then all of the students walked down from the risers, held hands together, and took a bow once again. Then everyone walked off of the stage, and the word "The End" in cursive appeared on the screen. Then the screen slowly went black.

Arthur then stopped the video, and then rewound it back to the beginning. Then he ejected the cassette and then walked over to the video player, and put the cassette back in its case, and then carried it back to his room. Then he walked back to the same living room, and took a nap.

Later at 4:00 PM, there was a loud knock on the door. Arthur quickly ran to the front door. It was his cousin, 20-year-old Monique who usually goes by her shortened name of "Mo". She was on a break from Elwood City Community College and she lived in an apartment in Westboro Apartments. Her hair was very long and she had bangs across her forehead. She was wearing a blue shirt that looked like Francine's, blue jeans, red and white sneakers, a white winter jacket, orange mittens, and a blue stocking cap. She was very tomboyish. Out on street parked next to the Reads' front yard was Mo's white 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity _CL_ 4-door sedan.

"Hi, Arthur," greeted Mo. "Would you mind carrying my stuff into your house and into your sisters' room?"

"Certainly," replied Arthur.

Arthur walked to the car and then he picked up Mo's blue suitcase and carried it all the way to his sisters' room. Mo carried her big bag full of books, movies, dental supplies, and others. Arthur and Mo offered D.W. and Kate to help out, so they agreed.

When they went back to Mo's car, Mo picked up her canvas sleeping mat that was orange on one side and blue on the other side, Arthur picked up Mo's white electric blanket, D.W. picked up Mo's pillow that was in a yellow _Rat Woman_ pillowcase, and Kate picked up Mo's yellow _Rat Woman_ blanket, and then they all carried them upstairs into the sisters' room. Then they unfolded Mo's mat, then they unfolded Mo's _Rat Woman_ blanket, then Mo took the surge protector out of her bag and plugged it in, then they unfolded the electric blanket and plugged it into the surge protector. The last things were Christmas presents from Mo, and she put them all under the Christmas tree by herself.

Later at 6:00 PM, Arthur's 44-year-old Aunt Loretta, 45-year-old Uncle Bud, and his other two cousins arrived at the door. Ricky was 14 years old and his younger sister was 11 years old. Loretta's hair stayed the same as always, and she was wearing a white blouse, a purple skirt that goes down to the lower legs, brown boots, a brown winter coat, blue mittens, and a purple stocking hat. Bud's hair was now down to the shoulder, but still bald on top, and grew out of having a mustache when he was 41 years old; and was wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans, brown boots, a gray winter coat, brown mittens, and a brown stocking hat. Ricky had shaggy hair with bangs; and was wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, gray boots, a gray winter coat, gray mittens, and a black stocking hat. Ricky's sister had very long hair that was styled in pigtails, and she had bangs; and she was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans, purple boots, a purple winter coat, purple mittens, and a purple stocking hat. Parked on the street behind Mo's car was a tan 1998 Chevrolet Lumina sedan that was mainly driven by Loretta. Arthur helped out with his cousin Ricky and carried Ricky's stuff into Arthur's room. Mo and Arthur's sisters helped out Mo's sister and carried her stuff into D.W. and Kate's room. Jane and David helped Loretta and Bud, and carried their stuff into the master bedroom and let Loretta and Bud sleep in the living room below Arthur's room.

Later at night at 11:00, it was time for bed. Loretta and Bud set up the sofa bed and put the sheets and pillow on there. Then everyone changed into their pajamas. Loretta was wearing a purple and pink striped nightgown and a pair of white slippers, Bud was wearing blue and green striped pajamas and a pair of brown slippers, Jane was wearing a white nightgown with pink flowers and a pair of pink slippers, David was wearing red and white striped pajamas and orange slippers, Arthur was wearing blue and white striped pajamas and white bunny slippers, Ricky was wearing orange and gray striped pajamas and gray slippers, Mo was wearing black and white striped pajamas and white slippers, D.W. was wearing a pink nightgown with white polka-dots and a pair of cow slippers, Kate was wearing pink two-piece pajamas with purple polka-dots and a pair of cow slippers, and Mo's sister was wearing a purple nightgown and a pair of pink slippers. In Arthur's room, Arthur crawled into his bed, put Pal on his body under the covers, and took off his glasses. Ricky crawled into his orange sleeping bed three feet from Arthur's bed. In D.W. and Kate's room, D.W. crawled into the bottom bunk, Kate climbed up the ladder to the top bunk, Mo crawled under the covers on her mat, and Mo's sister crawled into her purple sleeping bag.

**To be continued…**


	3. Snowy Morning

**Chapter 3: Snowy Morning**

At midnight, it started snowing in Elwood City. There was a blizzard coming outside of Arthur's window, and he woke up to the loud blowing sound. He put on his glasses and quietly walked over the window. He was surprised to see a bunch of snowfall and for it to blow so hard. Then he quietly crawled back into bed and took off his glasses.

At sunrise, everyone in the house woke up. There wasn't any more snowfall outside. They all walked downstairs and looked out the window. Loretta and Bud were the first to look out the window, since they were the only ones sleeping on the first story. When they all looked out the window, they saw they had recently received nine inches of snow.

Arthur, Mo, and Ricky put in their winter coats, snow pants, hats, boots, and mittens and walked out of the house to do the snow work. Arthur's snow pants were blue, Mo's snow pants were white, and Ricky's snow pants were red. They walked out the back door, and they walked through the hill of snow, and opened the door to the garage.

When they walked into the garage, they found three shovels and a red snow blower. There was also a white 1998 Ford Econoline 150 van that had the same business emblem on the sides as the old yellow van David used to have. David threw out the old yellow one when Arthur was in seventh grade, because the engine was going haywire, and every time it was fixed, the same problem would persist.

When they picked up the shovels, they walked outside and scooped in front of the garage to make room for the two doors to open up. Then Arthur started to use the snow blower while Mo and Ricky were shoveling. They spent about an hour doing the outdoor work. When they were done, they walked back inside the house for breakfast.

After breakfast, everyone washed up and dressed up, one after another. David and Loretta walked to the garage and started baking Christmas cakes and other desserts. They were also cooking foods for a Christmas dinner. Arthur and Mo helped out with them.

David, Loretta, Arthur, and Mo worked together until it was lunchtime.

**To be continued…**


	4. Fun at the Mall

**Chapter 4: Fun at the Mall**

At noon, the Read family and relatives went to the Mill Creek Mall for lunch. Arthur, Mo, and Ricky went to get a slice of pizza; D.W., Kate, and Mo's sister went to get chicken strips and fries; David and Jane went to get spaghetti; and Loretta and Bud went to get fried chicken. They all sat together at a table.

After lunch, Arthur and his sisters and cousins went to get ice cream. Arthur and Mo picked out rainbow sherbet, D.W. and Kate picked out strawberry, and Ricky and his younger sister picked out chocolate.

When they were done eating ice cream, they went to the arcade center to play arcade games. Arthur and Mo were playing a racing game, and Arthur was player 1 while Mo was player 2. D.W., Kate, Ricky, and the girl were playing skee-ball. Arthur and Mo then went over to play a fighting game. They played in the arcade center for almost an hour. After winning tickets, they went to the counter to choose some prizes. Arthur picked out a rainbow ball that was used to bounce and catch, Mo picked out the Chinese finger traps with blue and white diamonds, Ricky picked out a baseball card, D.W. picked out a toy pony and it was pink, Kate picked out the same as her sister but was purple, and the younger sister of Mo and Ricky picked out a purple pencil.

After Arthur and his sisters and cousins played arcade games, they started to look around in the stores with all of their parents.

After going to the mall, they all went home to continue preparing for Christmas.

**To be continued…**


	5. Christmas Eve

**Chapter 5: Christmas Eve**

At noon on Christmas Eve, the Read family was making sugar cookies that had green frosting on some of them, pink frosting on the others, and they were all sprinkled. The other foods and beverages they made before this day included gingerbread houses, two round Christmas cakes (one was a traditional cake celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday, and another was a cookie cake with a Christmas tree and presents and silver bells), fruit punch, spaghetti, turkey, spinach, and some other good foods.

At 5:00, long after all the foods were done for the holiday, it was time to go to Church. David was wearing a blue sleeveless sweater with a white and blue striped dress shirt underneath, a brown plaid jacket, khaki pants, and brown loafers. Jane was wearing a pink blouse, a gray plaid jacket, a blue skirt that goes down to the lower legs, and gray loafers. Loretta was wearing a purple short-sleeved Christmas dress with a Christmas tree on it, a blue jacket with snowflakes on it, and white loafers. Bud was wearing a blue dress shirt, a brown jacket, khaki pants, and black loafers. Arthur was wearing a yellow sleeveless sweater with a white and red striped dress shirt underneath, a red bowtie, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes. Mo was wearing a blue sleeveless sweater with white and black striped dress shirt underneath and wore the shirt hanging out, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes. Ricky was wearing a gray short-sleeved dress shirt, blue jeans, and brown dressy shoes. D.W. was wearing a pink short-sleeved Christmas dress with Santa Claus on it and brown dressy shoes. Kate was wearing a pink short-sleeved Christmas dress with Frosty the Snowman on it and black Mary Janes with long white socks. The sister of Mo and Ricky was wearing a purple short-sleeved dress with a reindeer on it, and black dressy shoes.

When they all arrived to Church in two different cars, they sat next to Grandma Thora who arrived earlier. Thora's hair was the same as always, and she was wearing a gray long-sleeved dress and brown dressy shoes. Inside the Church, everything was all decorated all Christmas-like, plus the Nativity scene.

The mass started at 5:30. The opening Christmas hymn they sang was "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in G Major. The next Christmas hymn they sang that was during money-giving was "O Come All Ye Faithful" in G Major. During communion, the hymn they sang was "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in E Major. The closing hymn they sang at the end was "Joy to the World" in C Major.

After mass, the Read family and relatives went home to the Read house, plus Grandma Thora came along. They all sat down in the dining room for a wonderful Christmas dinner.

After dinner, it was time for dessert. The two cakes were set up in the middle of the dining room table. Then they all set out different packages of ice cream flavors: vanilla, peppermint, and rainbow sherbet. Then they all sang the "Happy Birthday, Jesus Christ" song. After singing, they each cut up the slices and put them on plates, and three scoops with one flavor of each on each plate of cake. They also ate the cookies.

After dessert, everyone changed into their pajamas and walked into the living room. It was time to open presents. Before opening presents, Arthur and Mo were playing Christmas carols on the piano together and singing: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in G Major, "Let it Snow" in G Major, "Sleigh Ride" in G Major, "Silver Bells" in E Flat Major, "Winter Wonderland" in E Major, and "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" in G Flat Major. While the two cousins were playing, the others were also singing along.

After Arthur and Mo played the piano, everyone started opening presents. The first present was a present from David to Jane. It was a figure of a Christmas tree.

"Thanks, David," said Jane.

"My pleasure," replied David.

Then Arthur opened a present. It was from Grandma Thora and it was a game of chess.

"Thanks, Grandma," said Arthur.

"My pleasure," replied Grandma Thora.

Then Loretta gave a present to Grandma Thora. Before Grandma Thora opened it, the tag said: _TO: Mom FROM: Loretta_. When she opened the present, it was a Christmas mug with a Christmas tree.

"Thanks, Loretta," said Grandma Thora.

"My pleasure, Mom," replied Loretta.

Then there was a present for D.W. It was from Grandma Thora. When D.W. opened it, it was a cow hat.

"Thanks, Grandma," said D.W.

"My pleasure," replied Grandma Thora.

Then Mo opened a present. It was from Arthur, and it was a blue baseball cap.

"Thanks, Arthur," said Mo.

"My pleasure," replied Arthur.

Arthur opened another present, and it was from Francine. His present from Francine was a blue baseball cap with a white letter A on the front.

Then everyone opened up all their presents for the rest of the hour until it was time for bed. Kate and her cousin who was the younger sister of Mo and Ricky were waiting for Santa Claus to put their presents into their stocking. Arthur was waiting to see new _Bionic Bunny_ movie that was coming out the next day, but only to go see that movie with Francine when she was finished celebrating Hanukkah with her family.

**To be continued…**


	6. Kate's Wonderful Present

**Chapter 6: Kate's Wonderful Present**

It was a very foggy night while everyone in the Read household was asleep. Loretta and Bud who were on the sofa bed in the living room below Arthur's room had their ears covered underneath hats: the one Loretta was wearing was purple, and the one Bud was wearing was blue.

At midnight, Santa Claus came by on a sleigh and stopped on the roof of the house. He came down through the chimney and crawled right out of the fireplace. Loretta and Bud could not even hear any sounds. Santa put the presents in the stocking for Kate. Santa then quietly walked into the dining room and ate a few cookies on the plate. Santa then walked back to the fireplace and out of the chimney, and then started flying to another house.

When sunrise came, Jane quietly came into D.W. and Kate's room to wake up Kate. Kate quietly climbed down the ladder. Kate followed her mother out of the bedroom quietly, and the rest of the girls in the room were still sleeping. Everyone else was still sleeping as well.

Kate quietly walked down the stairs with her mother and into the living room. Jane quietly picked up the stocking off of the fireplace mantel and held it down in front of Kate. Kate then reached inside the stocking, and much to her surprise…it was a stuffed white rabbit girl with pink yarns of hair, plus she was wearing a purple dress. She hugged the doll with cheerful delight. Then she put her present on the top bunk in her and D.W.'s room.

About a half hour later, everyone all woke up. They all went into the dining room, and much to their surprise, some of the cookies were eaten by Santa Claus. There were also some leftover cakes from last night.

During lunch, everyone was dressed casually, Grandma Thora stopped by once again, and the made one more Christmas dinner.

After a Christmas dinner, everyone started having fun for the rest of the holiday. Arthur started playing chess with Mo in his room, D.W. and Kate were playing together in their room, and Ricky and his sister were playing cards.

**To be continued…**


	7. Goodbye

**Chapter 7: Goodbye**

The next morning, the day after Christmas, it was time for the relatives to go home. After breakfast, Loretta and Bud and their children started packing up to leave. Mo had to pack up her stuff and go back to her apartment, because she has to get ready for work in the afternoon. The relatives all spent the rest of the half hour packing up.

When they were done packing up, Arthur helped Mo bring her stuff to her car, and he helped Mo's siblings carry their stuff into their family's car. Arthur's parents helped Loretta and Bud carry their stuff to the family car. They spent nearly ten minutes on the job.

When they were done carrying stuff out to the cars, were all having a conversation together for almost ten minutes. Then Arthur's family gave all of their relatives each a hug. Then the relatives all walked out of the front door.

Mo walked to her car, and then her parents and siblings walked to the family car. Before leaving, Mo's car had the coldest of starts. Her car sat there since she arrived a week ago in the afternoon for the holiday vacation. Then Mo headed back to her apartment, and her family headed back home.

Arthur then thought of going to see the new movie called _Bionic Bunny's Antarctic Adventures_ that came to cinemas on Christmas. He thought of going to see the movie with his dream date Francine, whenever she was done celebrating Hanukkah with her family in the next two days.

**To be continued…**


	8. Movie Date

**Chapter 8: Movie Date**

Two days after the relatives all went home, Arthur was planning to go see the new _Bionic Bunny_ movie with Francine at the Loring Cinema.

That afternoon at 1:30, Arthur looked up the movies on his family's computer, and he decided to go see the 2:15 showtime of _Bionic Bunny's Antarctic Adventures_. Right away, he called up Francine, and she agreed, so Arthur decided to pick her up in front of the apartment building.

Arthur put on his blue Bionic Bunny hoodie jacket that looked like a sweatshirt on the outside, but with a zipper on the front, and laces from the collar. The yellow "B" emblem was on the front and shown as a whole when zipped up, and the hood was red and had white rabbit ears. He then walked to his car and headed over to Westboro Apartments to pick up Francine who would be waiting for him to show up.

When Arthur arrived to Westboro Apartments, a familiar teenage girl was wearing the same Bionic Bunny hoodie he was wearing and the same jeans and sneakers. He could see her walking out the door and to his car, and noticed a familiar monkey face. It was Francine.

"Hey Francine," said Arthur as she was getting inside the car.

"Hey Arthur," replied Francine.

"How was Hanukkah?" he asked.

"It was fun," she replied. "We got to have a lot of good foods, and we played a lot of good board games and card games, we even played some music."

"I bet it was a lot of fun," said Arthur.

"How was your Christmas?" asked Francine.

"It was a lot of fun," he replied. "Aunt Loretta, Uncle Bud, and my three cousins got to stay with us. We had a great dinner, Mo and I played some carols on the piano, and we got to open a lot of good presents. And anyway, thanks for the baseball cap."

"My pleasure," said Francine.

Just then, Arthur and Francine arrived at the Loring Cinema. When they were about to walk into the building, they put their hoods down. There was a short line of people getting tickets. Arthur and Francine arrived early enough to get the tickets to see the new _Bionic Bunny_ movie they wanted to go see. Arthur bought the tickets for himself and Francine. Right away, they both walked over to spend their tickets and then walked down the hall and into the room where the _Bionic Bunny_ movie was.

The seating was much different from years ago. It was switched from being leveled to being a stadium when they were in seventh grade. There were a few people in there before they walked in. They walked up the stairs to the very first row and Arthur sat in 1E and Francine sat in 1F.

When it was nearly 2:00, the entire room was getting occupied in a flash. Arthur and Francine were glad to arrive very early. They were some of the few people at the movie without any popcorn, soda, or any other snacks.

When the time came, the commercials started playing, and then there were previews to upcoming movies. After ten minutes of all of that, the movie then started playing.

At the beginning of the movie, the viewers saw the continent of Antarctica being attacked by sea monsters and the penguins were running for their lives. There were some chunks of ice scattering around. When sea monsters were breaking the ice, Arthur and Francine to react surprisingly with many of the other viewers.

In the next scene of the movie, it showed news reporters reporting the continent of Antarctica being terrorized by sea monsters and that Antarctica is in danger and could risk the loss of animals, residents, homes, and everything else there.

The next scene after that showed Bionic Bunny being called to save the continent Antarctica.

Meanwhile, in the middle of everyone watching the movie, Arthur and Francine could hear a group of teenagers in the second row in front of them talking and shouting. Those kids there were from Mighty Mountain and they started throwing their snacks on each other. The shouting was loud enough that Arthur and Francine felt like covering their ears, and so did the other viewers who were trying to watch the movie. The shouting, food-fighting kids got each other contaminated with soda pop, and some of the popcorn and candy even stuck on their clothes. Arthur and Francine were lucky no one threw any snacks at them.

Just then, one of the employees of the Loring Cinema came into the room and walked up the stairs to the Mighty Mountain kids who were being noisy and did food-fighting, and dismissed them all. Arthur and Francine were relieved of the situation, and they got back to watching the movie without being distracted.

At the very end of the movie, they saw Bionic Bunny finishing off the last of the sea monster, and restoring Antarctica in its beautiful original condition. Then the final scene showed Bionic Bunny receiving an award for saving Antarctica and waving to all of the people.

Then Arthur and Francine left the cinema after the movie. The movie was around ninety minutes long. As they walked outside, the put their hoods up as they walked to the car.

As they were leaving, it was time for them both to go home. Arthur dropped off Francine to her apartment, and then he headed home.

"How was the movie?" asked Arthur's mother when he came in.

"It was great," said Arthur. "Francine and I went to it together."

**To be continued…**


	9. New Year's Eve

**Chapter 9: New Year's Eve**

On New Year's Eve, Arthur's family was setting up a New Year's party. Arthur invited his cousin Mo over for the celebration, because she lived in the same city because that she's independent. Grandma Thora also came over for the party. Everyone was all dressed formally for the celebration.

After dinner, it was time for cake. The cake was a big round cookie cake. Everyone put on the cone-shaped hats. As everyone shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR!", Jane cut the cake into slices and put each slice on a paper plate for each person to eat.

Later at 10:00, they all went to a New Year's dance party. They were dancing on the center stage to a bunch of songs. When the clock struck at exactly midnight, everyone shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR!", and then the party was over and everyone all went home. At the start of New Year's Day, it started snowing again.

**To be continued…**


	10. Return to School

**Chapter 10: Return to School**

On Monday, January 5th, it was time for everyone to return to school. However, most students would return to school on January 3rd if it were on a weekday. Of course this was the twelfth and last day of Christmas.

Arthur and his friends were very nervous about returning to school. When they all came back, the Christmas things were gone, and there were some snowflake symbols everywhere around the school, indicating that it's just wintertime.

During that school day, Arthur and his friends and all the other students were receiving study guides in each class for the semester exam that was on the 16th. Everyone was glad they had a wonderful Christmas break.

**THE END**


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